June 26, 2024 — As active shooter incidents and other forms of violence in the workplace continue to become commonplace across the nation, training to defend against such attacks has also become more frequent.
Last December, PEF’s Health and Safety conference introduced the Active Violence Emergency Response Training, or the AVERT module, to educate members at agencies across the state on how best to handle themselves during an active shooter or violent emergency.
PEF staff took the training in June.
The AVERT training uses in-person techniques and video explanation and examples to help arm participating staff with the knowledge to help treat wounds, prioritize safety and defense, and even how to disarm attackers, if necessary. The training focuses on all aspects of a violent attack, including how to deal with injuries. Participants practice using tourniquets and are instructed on how to stop bleeding.
Though the concept and material can be jarring to many, AVERT and the trainers—led by trained PEF Health and Safety staff members—seek to push against the uncomfortable subject by reminding participants that through this training, they will gain the knowledge to act quickly and potentially save many lives, especially their own.
“Consider how many times you’ve heard about these kinds of things happening on television, on the news,” said PEF Health and Safety Specialist Jazmine Nova Morales. “We never expect it to happen here. We don’t want it to happen here, but we now must have the difficult conversation and recognize that it could happen here.”
AVERT’s biggest advantage is its hands-on focus to bring as much physical training as possible to participants. During the three-hour training, participants practiced dressing wounds using foam material to simulate wounds on the body and learned to react quickly to simulated attacks.
A major focus of the training deals with how to react when an intruder may be attacking by defending against and distracting the shooter. AVERT tackles this issue by simulating an attack and asking participants to block doors, confuse the attacker, and be ready to disarm the attacker, as well as treat potential wounded until emergency services arrive.
PEF staff said they found the training to be important and were glad to have had the opportunity to have the difficult conversation. Upon completion, participants get a certificate of completion.